A Comprehensive Review on Post-Treatment of Domestic Wastewater Using Hybrid Reed Bed Systems

Domestic wastewater management is one of the most critical challenges associated with rapid urbanization and population growth worldwide, as households generate large volumes of sewage on a daily basis, making it a major source of municipal effluent. Therefore, there is a strong need for economical, efficient, and sustainable treatment methods. A hybrid reed bed system provides a low-cost, nature-based solution for the treatment of domestic wastewater. Reed beds, which are engineered and managed ecological systems, utilize natural processes involving plants, microorganisms, and substrates, and are increasingly adopted across the world for decentralized domestic sewage treatment due to their simplicity, low energy requirement, minimal sludge generation, and suitability for small communities and institutional applications. The objective of this study is to assess the efficiency of a hybrid reed bed system in lowering biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), and pH at different hydraulic retention times, using Domestic wastewater discharged from an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor. The findings show that the system effectively reduces BOD, COD, and pH. Phragmites australis plays a crucial role in eliminating organic matter from the system. The study also reveals that longer detention or retention periods lead to higher pollutant removal rates.